New York City's mayor is under fire after claiming that his socialist policies are responsible for the city's balanced budget, despite receiving a multi-billion dollar bailout from the state.
The mayor, Zohran Mamdani, announced in a social media post that the city had cleared its $12 billion budget deficit, inherited from the previous administration, by taxing the rich and making government more efficient.
However, critics point out that the city received $1.5 billion in January and another $4 billion in late May from the state, funded by working-class taxpayers, as part of a multi-year plan to bail out the fiscally-challenged city.
Of the combined $8 billion provided to the city's bailout fund, $5 billion was directly earmarked for the city to address fiscal measures, including deferring pension contributions to close the budgetary gap.
The mayor's claims about socialist policies producing results and his failure to mention the massive bailouts provided by taxpayer dollars did not go unnoticed on social media, with many accusing him of lying and taking money from "the backs of hardworking people.".
Commentators and journalists also criticized the mayor's classification of the bailout as a loan, with one person asking sarcastically, "Are you saying New Yorkers can 'balance their budgets' by taking out massive credit card loans?"
The mayor's office did not respond to a request for comment, but he continued to defend his policies, citing the words of Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek, "If socialists understood economics, they wouldn't be socialists."
The mayor's comments were met with ridicule, with one person saying, "It always looks good at first until the chickens come home to roost," and another predicting that the mayor would soon "deliver" bread lines.
The city's financial situation remains a topic of debate, with many questioning the sustainability of the budget and the reliance on state funding.
